Historically, corrugated cardboard boxes have been used by businesses to hold file folders and other contents when relocating. During the past 5 to 10 years boxes made of plastic have been introduced as an alternative to using cardboard boxes in office moving. To date, boxes used in office moving, whether cardboard or plastic, have been commonly transported aboard dollies.
A dolly is typically comprised of a platform resting atop a set of wheels. The utility of this construction is broad. It not only lends itself to moving boxes that vary greatly in shape and size, but to transporting a large variety of other objects. In one respect, this broadness of utility creates a disadvantage, as it makes the dolly an attractive target of theft.
The box and dolly of the present invention were specifically designed to mate with each other and only each other. The dolly of the present invention does not have a platform and will not hold any object other than the box of the present invention. Accordingly, the dolly of the present invention is limited in its utility and is much less attractive as a target of theft than the typical platform dolly.
As such, the dolly of the present invention can be used in certain situations where the typical platform dolly would be subject to high levels of theft. One example of this occurs in office moving, where it would be desirable to have dollies on hand during the process of packing boxes. As that situation often necessitates leaving dollies unattended for long periods of time, the typical platform dolly is not a practical vehicle as it would likely be stolen in large quantities. The dolly of the present invention offers a better alternative as it is less likely to be stolen.
Since, as a practical matter, the dolly of the present invention can be on hand during packing, empty boxes can be placed aboard it and then packed. This allows the step in which boxes would otherwise have to be loaded onto dollies after they have been packed to be eliminated from the moving process, thereby saving time and money. The savings derives from the relatively low theft appeal of the dolly of the present invention, which is based upon its design as an item of limited utility.
When typical platform dollies are delivered to a location for use in moving they are usually cross-stacked (illustrated in FIG. 7C), meaning that any two adjacent dollies in a stack are in different orientations from each other. Such stacks are difficult to maneuver, lack stability and present a sloppy appearance.
The dolly of the present invention is designed to be parallel stacked (illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B), so that all dollies in a stack are in the same orientation. Such stacks are relatively easy to maneuver, stable and neat.